


Please, Take My Hand (We're In Foreign Land)

by clearface



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dead Tony Stark, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Morgan Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Sibling, Morgan Stark is a good bro, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Sad Morgan Stark, Sad Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, and she loves peter, basically this is just peter and morgan meeting, hes so sad, i dont know what else to tag, i should stop naming my stories after twenty one pilots songs, im so sorry peter, its called oh ms believer by twenty one pilots, light fluff, morgan has tony's eyes, peter loves her, set at the funeral, title from a song, whoopsies, why are there no morgan tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 00:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19073608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clearface/pseuds/clearface
Summary: He heard footsteps in the grass, still a bit far away but approaching. He wished he could turn his senses off. Peter wasn't ready to talk to adults just yet, he didn't feel the need. He was just a kid. He didn't want to. He didn't bother to look up when the steps reached him.Peter wasn't expecting the small hand touching his shoulder in place of where a bigger, stronger one would be instead.(in the midst of his sadness, peter meets morgan stark at tony's funeral)





	Please, Take My Hand (We're In Foreign Land)

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this soon after watching endgame, but i never posted it. originally it was gonna be a series of peter and morgan being siblings but i got lazy and am now writing a completely different au. this one wasn't beta read.
> 
> you can find me on twitter @ wrongirondad

Peter Parker was an unfortunate boy, one who knew funerals too good, too well for a 17 year old. (Or was he 22? He didn't know, he couldn't care less.)

More specifically, funerals where he was stuck right in the middle of them. Funerals that were for his own family, his close family. He can't seem to ever shake it away, the morbid parts of his Parker luck. He knows black, he knows gloom and he knows horrifyingly bloodshot eyes and pitying looks and condolences. They all sort of melt together in the end.

However, this one was different. It didn't feel right, it felt out of place and out of time, and in all honesty, Peter would rather be anywhere else but here right now, because this was so damn _unsettling._

"Here" more specifically being sitting near the pond of Tony Stark's lake house while he stared at the wet flowers floating in the distance, while everyone else was also clad in black, familiar teary eyes and broken emotions. Except everyone else was together, mourning with each other.

Peter didn't have the strength. He looked Pepper in the eyes once before service started and completely shattered, he didn't bother doing that with anyone else for the rest of his time here because even seeing May's sad eyes were bad enough.

So, he isolated himself where his senses didn't downright destroy him and so that he could have some closure; so that he could wallow in his own mind of white noise and complete devastation and honest confusion.

Iron Man. The Invincible Iron Man. Dead. Gone.

Iron Man wasn't supposed to die, he wasn't supposed to leave. The part of Peter's conscience that was still an eager seven year old was now dead inside, screaming, sobbing. Iron Man, Anthony Stark was supposed to be unbeatable. He was supposed to come out of this battered and bruised, but victorious nonetheless.

Tony was supposed to be here.

Peter Parker couldn't stand the universe. He didn't understand why at all he was always shredded to pieces. It didn't make sense.

On Titan he faded, he forgot to tell Tony he loved him but told him sorry instead.

He passed out completely, apparently not but that's what it felt like, then woke up in complete and utter fucking confusion because Tony wasn't there at all like he should've been. Instead, Stephen Strange looked at him sternly and all of a sudden it had been five years and it was time to go back into battle, it was time to save the world. That's when Peter's newly donned Avenger instincts kicked in, and he realized the world was at war (again) and Tony Stark was definitely in the middle of it and hell yeah, he was gonna be a part of this and see Tony again if it was the last thing he did. And he'd tell him all about his time away from his father figure like any good kid did. Like it was a recap of a wild school day.

Peter's breath hitched as he thought about the whole ordeal, the big Battle To Save The Universe, tears at the corners of his eyes.

And so there he was, swinging in as if he hadn't just died, facing fire and destruction and hundreds of people, beings, good on his side, bad on his opposite. He didn't even know where he was. All Strange said was that the Avengers needed help against Thanos and that they were to be portaled in battle. For a second it felt like a complete dream, because there were so many people surrounding him, all of his favorite heroes, and he couldn't believe he was about to be a part of this. Captain America was in front of him and Peter was going to damn well make sure he was poised when Steve yelled those two words. But once he snapped out of that haze, a dread sank through him so quickly that he wasn't sure he should really be there. Then that thought was replaced with _Man up, Parker. Mr. Stark made you an Avenger. It's time to help save the world. Don't be a pussy right now, you're Spider-Man! Uncle Ben told you that with great power, comes great responsibility. And this is a huge ass responsibility. You've got this._ So Peter gulped, accepted his fate, and just like everyone else: battled.

In all honesty, at first, the bad guys were relatively easy to get through. For someone as high and mighty as the Mad Titan Thanos, he sure had picked some wimpy villains (or maybe Peter was just that good). Karen was a step ahead of him, online again, immediately picking Tony out of the masses and telling him how to get there because Peter was going to make sure one of the first things he did was let Tony know he was alright and fine.

Tony was on the ground. Peter remembers having the _thought_ , the _ache_ , but he remembers pushing it aside because he would help Mr. Stark up and he would go off and fight again. Like always, when they reached each other, Peter's mouth started and didn't stop, but he had so much to say and not enough time because people were literally in one of the universe's biggest battles ever behind him, but of course, it wouldn't stop his recap. He had to tell him. It was all so overwhelming, how could he not? Tony also had some grey hairs. Peter wondered just how much he missed.

And then Tony Stark hugged the kid.

They'd hugged before, of course, as any surrogate father and son did, but this was the best hug of Peter Parker's life.

The last one from his... his _dad_ that he would ever receive.

Even in the bone-crushing Iron Man armor, Peter felt at peace for a good few eternal seconds of his life, and in that tiny moment, they were just a boy and his mentor, his father, reuniting. The hug was long, it was safe, and Peter stupidly was confused at first, and the only thing he could say about the hug itself was, "Oh, this is nice." Peter had never really felt more love from Mr. Stark until the man gave him a small kiss on the cheek. That's when everything clicked into place. Tony really did love the kid.

Tony's eyes were watery and he was smiling as they pulled away, and the moment ended too soon. They said a few more words ( _"Stay safe, Peter, that's the only thing I'm asking for. Oh, and go kick some ass too."_ and his response, _"You got it, Mr. Stark, you stay safe too."_ ), and then they were pulled back into the thick of things and Peter was off to help some people who had been thrown a distance and were currently in the air. He swung with anxiety and nerves but also with a bit of ease thanks to the hug, because he knew Tony was okay and Tony knew he was okay and that was that, and they'd be okay.

For a little bit, at least.

The battle went on, and Peter went through hell and back with the gauntlet himself, unfortunately ending in a shriveled ball of fear as he was crowded with rapid fire, holding the gauntlet close because this was the fate of the universe in his hands and people would pry it off his dead body if they had to. Luckily, some human-slash-alien woman from space was able to help him out, and then Peter found himself surrounded with lots of cool superheroines, and they were off towards a pack of monsters, and Peter put himself right back into action (and on a pegasus, too. Crazy things happen in the universe). And the battle continued for a while.

That's when, from a distance, he saw Tony Stark, human, wield his own gauntlet complete with stones and snap his fingers like he was made for it.

But Peter didn't have time to focus on that. Because now Thanos' army was fading away just like he once did and that was leaving some people falling to the ground that he needed to help. So he did, and it became his primary focus until he saw the unthinkable in the distance, surrounded by Rhodey and Steve and Pepper and _oh my God._

_Oh God, please no._

He apologized to the person he was checking on for leaving, pulling at his web as hard as he could to bring himself over to Tony as fast as possible. The closer he got, the worse it looked. He was crying before he even landed. He didn't even want to think about it. This was _not_ supposed to happen.

He swooped down, and Rhodey let him in front. Rhodey knew.

"Mr. Stark," he said, voice shaking impossibly as he tried to keep control of himself. "Hey," he tried to smile, he tried to be positive, that's what everyone would do. "You can hear me? I-it's Peter," he tried, but to no avail. The man was lifeless already. He was trying so hard to breathe, deep breaths overtaking him as he ran out of things to do, oh God he couldn't do anything. "We won, Mr. Stark," he told the man. And then told him again, because fuck, he was losing it and Tony was dead and there was nothing he could do and at this point he just wanted a fucking doctor to come and tell him everything was okay but everything was Not Okay and why couldn't Peter do anything? "We won, you did it, sir," he said in a smaller voice, "you did it." And fucking finally, he saw Tony take a breath and look at him, still giving him no response, and that's when Peter finally let go, breaking into tears. He gave Tony one last hug.

"I'm sorry, Tony," he cried, because it was the last thing he was going to be able to say before poor Pepper Potts (not Potts, _Stark_ ) was taking his place, and he let himself lose his composure and open the flood gates as Rhodey was close by. He didn't even know why he said he was sorry or what exactly he was sorry for. He was sorry for letting Tony down. He was sorry for Tony because he was dying and he would never get to breathe again, he was sorry because he promised Tony he wouldn't die and then he did and then it caused the man to do this in the first place, he was sorry for everything he had ever done wrong. He was sorry for not being a good son, not being there for Tony when he needed to be like right now. Pepper kissed the man's cheek, told him that he could rest and that was it.

Peter Parker didn't need to see all of this, to go through all of this, but he wished he could just so he could say something else. Like a five year overdue "I love you," or a "thank you," or "it's going to be okay." Something that wasn't a flimsy sorry, something that didn't make Peter want to scream in regret.

The scene was too familiar to Peter to stomach.

Peter took a last look at the flowers and the Arc Reactor before bursting into tears. He didn't care anymore. This was the end. He couldn't do anything. Even the service was over. This was it. He was without a father figure. Again.

He wished he would've been here for the five years he missed, he wished he would've been there for Mr. Stark while he settled down, he wished he was there for the wedding (Tony had appointed him a groomsman), he wished he was there to meet Tony's daughter (who he probably cherished to the end of the world), who he'd just found out about earlier a few days before the funeral, and it broke him. He had yet to meet her.

He wondered how bad it was for Tony while he wasn't here, he wondered if Tony ever thought of him besides feeling guilt for Peter's death (which, wasn't his or Peter's fault really, but they both blamed shit like that on themselves). He wondered what life would be like for Tony if he got to actually live it a little more normal as he deserved, what it would be like if he would be able to relax without having to be dead.

The sun was bright. It was too bright, too happy for this.

Peter figured maybe it was symbolic for what Tony Stark actually deserved instead of this.

His sleeves were wet from wiping his face. He probably looked pathetic. Not strong at all. He heard footsteps in the grass, still a bit far away but approaching. He wished he could turn his senses off. Peter wasn't ready to talk to adults just yet, he didn't feel the need. He was just a kid. He didn't want to. He didn't bother to look up when the steps reached him.

Peter wasn't expecting the small hand touching his shoulder in place of where a bigger, stronger one would be instead. Confused, the boy looked to the side hesitantly.

He met eyes with a horribly familiar pair of deep brown ones.

Beside him, shy yet curious, stood Tony Stark's daughter. His little girl. Peter felt like a weight had hit him. She couldn't be older than five. This, this little child was Anthony Stark's absolute pride and joy. She looked so much like him that Peter was taken aback. The little girl had an immediate look of surprise on her face as they met eyes, like a switch had been flipped on her stature, she looked happy to see him and it made the teenager's heart stop.

He was right, she was happy to see him, saying, "Peter! You fin'lly came home!" in an excited tone. Peter thought he was going to start crying again. She knew his name. She knew who he was. She was only a mere child and she knew him. Not only that, but she had been expecting to meet him.

She said Peter finally came home.

Peter's mind exploded with questions of how this came about. He wondered what the little one's definition of "home" entailed.

"Hello," he said weakly, frozen. He felt awful for not knowing her name in return.

She seemed to be on the same wavelength. "I'm Morgan!" she said. "I'm your lil' sister! Daddy said you were my big broth'r 'n that you'd come back!"

Peter's eyes widened and he almost choked, mentally repeating the words that came spewing out of the little girl like they were rehearsed. His breathing accelerated, and he nodded, unsure of what to say. "Y-yeah."

She stuck her hand out, and Peter was confused for a second before he realized she wanted to shake his hand. She took the fingers she could in her tiny hand and shook them twice. Peter couldn't get over her dark eyes. Those were Tony's eyes.

"Why're you crying? Everyone's crying 'n I dunno why," Morgan then mumbled. For a second, Peter knew exactly what she was going through. He did this all too, at a young age. His heart dropped even lower.

"Today's very," Peter took a breath, trying not to lose it in front of the girl, "a very sad day."

"Mommy said that Daddy's not gonna come home," her voice quieted. "But Daddy told me that he would always b'with me if he's not here b'fore he leaved. S'that good?"

Peter was definitely going to cry. This girl was so innocent, so wholesome that he didn't understand how the universe could be so cruel and take her own parent away like that, not when he left a message for her like that. "He's right," Peter said, voice cracking. "He's with all of us right now, in our hearts."

Morgan nodded, and God, Peter couldn't cry because if he started, so would she, and this was such a bad idea. He sniffed, exhaling softly into the distance. Here he was, at Tony fucking Stark's funeral, being a stupid kid and staying away from the adults while Tony's literal, actual toddler was now sitting down next to him, watching him cry over her late father. This was so unfair.

"So," he sniffed. "He said I was your brother?"

Morgan nodded again. Peter swore on his life this girl was too good for any of this. "Yea," she replied. "He said that he wasn't your first daddy 'nd you might not think that he's your daddy." She took a breath, "But he said that you were his kid too, 'nd that we were broth'r 'n sist'r."

Peter listened to the child's words with the widest eyes, and he started to fill with a deep, gut-wrenching feeling. He hadn't just been a crazy and stupid kid after all.

Tony Stark thought of him as his child and then went on to tell his actual, real, biological daughter that he was her brother.

It was too much at this point.

Morgan kept talking, noticing Peter's quietness.

"He said tha' you were gone," she frowned, "but you were g'nna come back one day 'n we could do stuff that broth'rs and sist'rs do! He got sad a lot about you, he cried 'n sometimes hugged me for a long time b'fore I went t'sleep."

Then, just when Peter thought his time of unexpected hugs was at an end, Morgan hugged him, stuffing her face in his chest, fingers curling in the back of his suit. Peter started crying again. This girl had never met him before and was latching on to him like she'd known him for her entire life. It was crazy, terrifying and warming all at once, but that's when Peter realized that Tony had been telling her about him for a little while at the least.

She knew who he was, but he had no idea about her.

It was weird because she probably knew of most of the other people here, but she had remained latched to Pepper and Happy for the entire day, hiding behind their legs as people talked and everything. He had seen her, and she hadn't seen him till now. But somehow she was completely open to Peter, like a different child from what he saw earlier in the day. Little kids were strange.

But she was a comfort to him as they hugged, and Peter realized that she was completely right about Tony being with them, or, Tony was completely right about being with them. This was the man's own kid, Peter thought to himself, of course this feels comfortable.

She broke the hug as Peter was still teary. "You're happy to see me, right?"

"Of course," Peter smiled. "I'm so happy to see you, Morgan."

Before the girl could reply, Peter heard more footsteps and turned to see Pepper and May walking down silently.

"Oh, she found Peter," he could hear Pepper say with a sigh. Morgan, who had yet to hear them, turned around in interest, watching her mom and the new lady approach. She stayed right by Peter.

"I've been looking all over for you, baby," Pepper said as she neared the two, talking to Morgan. The little girl stood up, grabbing her hand and cowering from May slightly.

"Peter's sad 'n I wanna keep him comp'ny," she mumbled shyly.

"That's sweet of you," Pepper smiled solemnly, and Peter looked at her with the only smile he could muster. "I knew you would want to say hi."

"Duh!" Morgan whispered. "He's my brother!"

Pepper let out a saddened laugh, squeezing her hand. May was silent, teary-eyed herself, walking over to Peter and sitting on the bench with him, hugging him too.

"Mommy, who's that?" Morgan whispered.

"That's Peter's Aunt May," Pepper answered back.

"Oh," the little one said.

Pepper stood back from the two. "How about we go take a nap? You probably need some rest."

"Wait!" Morgan said, "I wanna tell Peter bye!"

Pepper nodded, "go ahead," she smiled, happy that her daughter at least wasn't shy around the boy. It made sense. She had so much of Tony in her.

Morgan ran over to Peter, hugging him again and burying her face. "Bye-bye Peter!" she said. "I gotta go take a nap!"

Peter, somewhat surprised again, only gave her a small smile as he hugged back. "Bye, Morgan. Get some good sleep, okay?"

"Okay!" she said, still not letting go. When she did, she stayed by him for a little. "Please come v'sit again so we can play 'n stuff, okay? Don't go away for a long time again." She looked sad, and Peter's heart was going to break.

"Of course I'll visit," he told her, "I promise." Even though he knew it would take a while to step into that house again because it was already so overwhelming just because it was... Tony... and he wasn't... he wasn't here anymore. He would at least try for Morgan now, despite only knowing her a little. Pepper had said he was always invited.

Morgan waved as she walked off with her mom, and so did Peter, and the tears came right back.

"She's so adorable," May said softly.

"I can't," Peter started, trying to get his words out. "I can't imagine what she's going through. I went through what she's going through right now but my parents, they weren't, they weren't like him," he cried, and May pulled him close.

"I know, honey. I know."

"May, she called me her brother," Peter whispered, strained. "She— He told her that I was... that I was like his kid and, _Damnit_ , I hate this," he continued.

May sat with him, listening. "I know, I hate it too. It's gonna be okay, we're gonna get through it though. He would want us to live happily, and you know it."

"Yeah, I know."

Peter was going to have to.

 


End file.
